Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Today our task was to edit our clips that we recorded last week, and make a thirty second introduction to a music show. In my group it was my self, Mikael, Joe, Nabeel and Danny. To begin with Peter copied the files which were going to be edited for the music introduction into a folder on our computer. We began by importing all the clips using log and capture for the Panasonic P2 files and importing the clips we recorded last week as '.mov' clips. We were using the clips that Danny's group had recorded last week for the intro but had a problem because although we had around 15-20 shots, most of them were the same shot but taken more than once which meant we had to extend most of the clips to cover the thirty second clip. There was a few shots of Josh introducing the bands from outside but we didn't want to use it because the shots that were taken inside the studio were quite dark and the colour differences were too far apart.

We decided to try and make the other shots work before we had to use the introduction shot with Josh. We had around six or seven other shots inside the studio but we didn't feel it was sufficient enough and we didn't have a choice. We decided to choose our video before we chose our audio which I think was a bad idea as we should have thought about what our video would look like and which sequence it would run in. We started adding the clips together and added some effects but we didn't want it to be too hard and used basic effects such as dissolves and fades because it was only a practice so we wanted to concentrate more on which shots to choose. Although we stretched our clips we still didn't have enough footage to cover up the full thirty seconds and we were left with ten seconds which were empty. We decided the only way to ensure that the whole intro would be complete is to add the introduction at the beginning. For audio we started by using Soundtrack Pro for to look for some instrumentals but couldn't really find anything contemporary that any one of us would listen to. We decided then to find some instrumental music on YouTube and used a site called 'Vid2mp3' to convert the video into an audio file and import it to our timeline. The new music was more upbeat and music that we were more likely to listen to as well.

Although we finished we weren't really happy with it because of the amount of shots we had to use and we would have liked to move the shots a lot quicker so it would be in sync with the music. After speaking to Peter he told us that we were able to use more footage than what we were using. Instead of using footage from every group that filmed last week, we only used the clips from one particular group, which is why we didn't have enough footage to edit into thirty seconds. So we started again from scratch and began to log and capture our footage and import all the '.mov' files that we filmed last week. Then as soon as we began to put our audio and video together the computer we were working on switched it self off and wouldn't come back on. After a few attempts and also checking all the points of connection the computer finally switched on again, but we hadn't saved our work and once again had to begin all over again. By the time we strung together a few clips and our music we had ran out of time for the day, but despite that I think we learnt a few lessons.

First of all we must listen to what our tasks are and if we were working on a live music event/show the consequences of our action would have been very severe, not just for us but for the whole production. We should also communicate with each other before we begin working because without really speaking to each other and making plans we didn't understand which direction were heading in. This resulted in a lot of time wasted re-arranging clips, choosing which music to use and where to get it from, and also not understanding which direction we were heading in. If we were to do it again we should first of all listen to the instructions given to us and also read the paperwork which instructed us on what was needed, and the type of introduction we were going for. Also it is important to plan ahead instead of trying to go through the work while your thinking because you find your self changing your mind, and then changing your mind again.